Eco-DIY: Certified Wildlife Habitat

When we were house-shopping last year, I fell in love with the backyard of the home we ultimately purchased. I loved the house, too, but the serenity of the yard- despite being smack dab in the middle of a suburban community- was impossible to resist. So when I found out about The National Wildlife Federation’s Garden For Wildlife Program, I knew our yard was a perfect candidate to be Certified Wildlife Habitat.

So maybe this isn’t your typical post from me! BUT I don’t know how well-known this program is, so I definitely wanted to write up a post on it in case ya’ll want to work towards certifying your own yards!

The gist of the program? You must provide the following elements:

Sources of Food

Sources of Water

Cover

Places to Raise Young

The website gives examples for each of these elements and how many of each you need to provide for certification. It’s very simple and straightforward, actually! This post contains affiliate links for your crafting convenience.

Sources of Food

This one was easy for us. We have several bird feeders: one that hangs with seeds and suet, a platform feeder for seeds or bluebird nuggets, and a hummingbird feeder. We also have a butterfly garden (which is still under development) that provides nectar flowers, as well as blueberry bushes. Now, the blueberries are for us! But since I don’t have them caged off, I’m quite certain the birds will beat us to them as they ripen.

Snacks!

Sources of Water

We don’t have any streams, canals, or drainage ditches on our property- purposefully! BUT, we do have bird baths- a couple of different varieties, actually.

Cover

Because our community is older than some, we have lots of mature trees in our yard (and in neighboring yards, too). So providing cover was not something we had needed to add. Our entire backyard is surrounded by cypress trees, which gives us wonderful privacy- AND it means our yard is the Melrose Place of the avian world.

Our backyard…

We also have lots of dense shrubbery in the corners of the yard and as part of the pre-existing landscaping. For instance, these hostas become the umbrella’d underworld for our resident chipmunks.

Place to Raise Young

And last but not least, places to raise young. We have PLENTY of options for randy wildlife, in natural form (mature trees) and placed form (bird houses). And while I’m not advocating for it, I’m quite certain the protected area under my porch may be a chipmunk nursery.

…and a DIY bird house is on my project list, of course.

So there you have it- our Certified Wildlife Habitat! AND I’ve got the certificate of authenticity to prove it.

We also received a sign we can post- and I’m enough of a biology nerd to do just that!

I am TOTALLY posting this in the yard!

So, who’s next? Is your yard potential certified wildlife habitat?

Craft/Create/Certify On!

S

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You really rocked it! Thanks so much for the detailed pictures and for sharing them with all on your blog. I do hope others see how important it is to offer all fo these to our wildlife, especially in this hot, dry season. I am sure the Ft. Inn Garden Club will honored to know that we were an inspiration to you.

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[…] upon a sweet little desktop clock that was perfect for a specific project. AND you may recall from this post that I’ve got a yen for creating more wildlife habitat options in our backyard. Well, my […]

[…] the fun repurposing projects I did for our yard last year! As you may recall, our yard qualified as Certified Wildlife Habitat which is something I’m proud of…AND I’m always looking for new ways to bolster our […]

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Welcome to Sadie Seasongoods- my blog dedicated to approachable repurposing and upcycling projects using vintage treasures and thrifted finds! I'm Sarah, the gal behind the projects and inspiration you'll find here- and I'm so very pleased to meet you. I feel a fundamental need to repurpose and upcycle the broken, the neglected, and the tossed- and to avoid buying new whenever possible. I hope to encourage others to live a more creative, less disposable life...and to
"think outside the box [store]"!
Working with my husband in our little home to share my ideas with you brings me more joy than I deserve, and I hope you'll sit a spell and page through my creations. I'd love to hear from you; connect with me through social media (below buttons) or please drop me a note at sadieseasongoods@yahoo.com .